Mascara brush, a manufacturing method and a mascara reservoir for same

ABSTRACT

A mascara brush comprises a plurality of bristles. These are held by a bristle carrier comprising at least two curved core sections extending from a common handle section. In a method for manufacturing said mascara brush, the two cores are bent jointly between a bending plunger and a counter-plunger of a bending tool. Said mascara brush can be used with a mascara reservoir having a circular mascara wiping aperture. The result is a mascara brush allowing a good predetermination of the amount of mascara to be applied. Further, an improved combing result and a curl effect can be achieved.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a mascara brush comprising aplurality of bristles held between two intertwisted wire sectionsforming a core, wherein said core comprises a curved core section; amethod of manufacturing a mascara brush of this type; and the use of amascara reservoir.

[0003] 2. Background Art

[0004] Mascara brushes of this type are known from DE 198 47 733 A1. Theuse of such mascara brushes often entails the problem that too muchmascara is applied onto the eyelashes because the mascara brushes areoverloaded with mascara. Further, such mascara brushes often have anunsatisfactory combing function. Especially in the case of uppereyelashes extending straight downward towards the lower eyelid, theknown mascara brushes in addition have an unsatisfactory function ofbending the eyelashes, i.e. an insufficient curl effect. This problemoccurs in particular with women of Asian origin.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] It is therefore an object of the present invention to furtherdevelop a mascara brush of this type in such a way that it allows theuser in a simple manner to predetermine the amount of mascara to betransferred on to the eyelashes and in particular to avoid theapplication of too much mascara. Further, the combing result and thecurl effect should be improved.

[0006] According to the invention, this object is achieved in that atleast two curved cores are provided, extending from a common handlesection.

[0007] According to the invention, it was found that a mascara brushhaving two cores allows a better distribution of the mascara picked upby the mascara brush. Therefore, the amount of mascara to be applied onto the eyelashes can be determined better. Two curved cores, if arrangedin parallel with one another, also improve the combing result during themakeup process, Even the use of a mascara brush in which at least one ofthe cores is straight can bring about an improvement with respect to theapplication and distribution of mascara. Particularly the use of amascara brush having two cores makes possible an asymmetrical loading ofthe mascara brush with mascara due to the cross-sectional geometry ofits brush section which is not rotationally symmetrical. In this case,the convex upper side of the curved cores is loaded less and cantherefore be used to correct the makeup, particularly to remove excessmascara. If both cores are used in parallel during the application, acomparatively thick mascara layer is applied. The concave lower sides ofthe two cores allow the achievement of a better curl effect.

[0008] A mascara brush with the cores having essentially the samebending radius is easy to manufacture.

[0009] Different transition angles result in a splitting of the coreswhich in turn results in a variation of the brush area along the brushaxis to be used for loading, combing or cleaning. Also, this variationmay be used for the fine regulation of the makeup process.

[0010] A handle section which is formed of bristle-free intertwistedwire sections being extensions of said cores is easy to manufacture.

[0011] Cores being separated starting from said handle section makepossible a mascara brush which provides an enlarged application areaeven near said handle section.

[0012] When tangents of said cores intersecting in a starting point forman angle β which is larger than 0°, these cores have proved to beparticularly favourable with respect to the application of mascara.

[0013] This also applies to the specific geometric shape of the bristlecontour as well as to the fibre materials.

[0014] The attachment variants according to which said handle section isattached in a stem section centrally or off-centre allow thedetermination of an offset between a handle of the mascara brush and thecores which in particular simplifies handling during the application ofmascara.

[0015] Stem section diameters ranging from 1.8 mm to 5.0 mm provide agood compromise between stability and ease of handling.

[0016] It is another object of this invention to indicate amanufacturing method for a mascara brush having at least two curvedcores.

[0017] According to the invention, this object is achieved by amanufacturing method that comprises the steps of manufacturing a rawbrush having at least two straight cores extending from a common handlesection; inserting said cores into a bending tool having a convexbending plunger and a concave counter-plunger being essentiallycomplementary thereto; bending said cores, wherein said bending plungerand said counter-plunger are moved towards each other and then away fromeach other; taking said cores out of said bending tool.

[0018] Such a manufacturing method allows simultaneous bending of thecores resulting in a reduction of the number of manufacturing steps.

[0019] It is a further object of the present invention to indicate amascara reservoir to be used with a mascara brush according to theinvention.

[0020] According to the invention, this object is achieved by using amascara reservoir which comprises a circular mascara wiping aperture,through which said mascara brush is insertable into said mascarareservoir.

[0021] According to the invention, it was found that appropriatelydimensioned known mascara reservoirs having a circular mascara wipingaperture can be used because the co-operation between the circularmascara wiping aperture and the bristle section normally having arotationally asymmetrical cross-section of the mascara brush accordingto the invention provides a desired asymmetrical loading of the mascarabrush with mascara, on which brush the convex sides of the bristlecontour are loaded less than the concave sides.

[0022] An example embodiment of the present invention will hereinafterbe described with reference to the attached drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0023]FIG. 1 shows a side view of a mascara brush according to theinvention between the intimated plungers of a bending tool;

[0024]FIG. 2 shows another side view of the mascara brush shown in FIG.1;

[0025]FIGS. 3 and 4 show side views corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 of asingle core of the mascara brush shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0026]FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal section through a mascara reservoir tobe used with a mascara brush shown in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

[0027]FIG. 6 shows a plan view of a front side comprising a mascarawiping aperture of the mascara reservoir shown in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0028] In FIG. 1, a mascara brush generally denoted by the referencenumeral 1 comprises two cores 2, 3 having a typical diameter between 0.6mm and 2.0 mm each of which comprises a plurality of bristles 4 forapplying mascara on to eyelashes. Each of said cores 2, 3 comprises twointertwisted wire sections between which said bristles 4 are held in aknown manner. These intertwisted wire sections having a wire thicknessbetween 0.4 mm and 1.0 mm are not individually shown in the drawing.Said bristles 4 have essentially the same length along said cores 2, 3.Typical bristle lengths range from 2.5 mm and 8 mm. Said bristles 4 areplastic fibre bristles but may alternatively also be natural fibrebristles. Also, there is no difference between said cores 2, 3 withregard to the bristle length. In a variant (not shown) of the mascarabrush, different bristle lengths along the cores and/or cores havingbristles of different lengths may be provided.

[0029] Said two cores 2, 3 are, as suggested in FIGS. 1 and 2,intertwisted in a handle section 5 not comprising any bristles. Thishandle section extends to the right in FIG. 1 and forms a handle (notshown) for said mascara brush 1. Here, said handle section 5 iscentrally connected with a stem section not shown in the drawing.Alternatively, this connection can also be provided away from the centreof said handle section 5. The stem section has a diameter of 2.8 mm. Inalternative embodiments of the mascara brush, the stem section may havea diameter between 1.8 mm and 5.0 mm.

[0030] Between transition sections 6, 7 of said cores 2, 3 which areadjacent to said handle section 5 and their ends facing away from saidhandle section 5 said cores 2, 3 are bent at a bending radius ofapproximately 30 mm around axes being parallel relative to each otherand perpendicular relative to the longitudinal axis of said handlesection 5 in such a way that said two cores 2, 3 resemble the horns of acapricorn. Due to this bending, bristle contours 8, 9 of said bristles 4of said cores 2, 3 comprise concave sides 10 and convex sides 11. Thebending around axes being parallel relative to each other results in thefact that said bristle contours 8, 9 in the side view shown in FIG. 2are flush with each other when viewed at perpendicularly to the bendingaxes and at the same time perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis ofsaid handle section 5.

[0031] As can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 4, said cores 2, 3 in a stretchedstate have cylindrical bristle contours 8, 9 as said bristles 4 alongsaid cores 2, 3 have essentially the same length. In other variants (notshown) of the mascara brush, the bristle contour may have the followingalternative shapes in a stretched state of the core: cylindrical,barrel-shaped, truncated cone tapering on one or both sides, truncatedcone, centrally waisted, centrally waisted with a truncated conetapering on one or both sides.

[0032] Said mascara brush 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 comprises bristlecontours 8, 9 having a circular cross-section. In alternative variants(not shown) of the mascara brush, the bristle contour cross-section mayhave the following shapes: elliptical, triangular, especially withrounded corners, rectangular, especially square-shaped, especially withrounded corners.

[0033] Typically, said cores 2, 3 have the same length between saidtransition sections 6, 7 and the ends facing away from said handlesection 5. Said transition sections 6, 7 of said cores 2, 3 which areadjacent to said handle section 5 are positioned at different transitionangles relative to the longitudinal axis of said handle section 5. Thetransition angle a of said transition section 6 relative to said handlesection 5 typically ranges between 10 and 20°. The transition anglebetween said transition section 7 and said handle section 5 is 0°.

[0034] On said handle section 5, a starting point E can be defined onwhich a portion of said handle section 5 ends and in which said twocores 2, 3 are intertwisted. From said starting point E in FIG. 1towards the left, said two cores 2, 3 start to separate from each other.From said starting point E, two tangents T₂, T₃ may be drawn along thecurved central axes of said cores 2, 3. The angle β between saidtangents T₂, T₃ is about 10° in the example embodiment shown in FIG. 1.In other embodiments (not shown) of the mascara brush, said angle β mayassume other values such as 20° or 0°.

[0035] In the example embodiment of the mascara brush shown in thedrawing, both cores 2, 3 are curved. Alternatively, at least one of thetwo cores may be formed straight.

[0036] A mascara brush 1 is manufactured as follows:

[0037] At first, a raw brush having straight cores 2, 3 is manufactured.Here, individual straight cores are manufactured in a known manner byintertwisting two wire sections between which the bristles 4 are held.Then, the two straight cores are preferably intertwisted in said handlesection 5 so that the transition angles described above between saidtransition sections 6, 7 and the longitudinal axis of said handlesection 5 are formed. At this manufacturing stage, said two straightcores 2, 3 have, together with said handle section 5, preferably theshape of the letter Y.

[0038] Then, the straight cores of the raw brush are inserted into abending tool. A convex bending plunger 12 and a concave bendingcounter-plunger 13 are schematically illustrated in part in FIG. 1. Thebending radii of said bending plunger 12 and said counter-plunger 13amount to approximately 10 mm. Here, the bending radius of the convexbending plunger 12 is slightly smaller than that of said counter-plunger13. Said bending plunger 12 and said counter-plunger 13 are movedtowards each other and then away from each other, so that the originallystraight cores 2, 3 are bent to assume their shape as shown in FIG. 1.

[0039] Finally, said mascara brush 1 is taken out of the bending tool.

[0040] Depending upon the desired final configuration of said cores 2,3, the raw brush may be appropriately turned around the longitudinalaxis of said handle section 5 when being inserted into the bending toolso that the flush arrangement of straight sides of said bristle contour8, 9 results, or so that, as not shown in the drawing, said concavesides 10 and said convex sides 11 of said bristle contour 8, 9 are flushwith each other. A mascara brush according to this second variant wouldin a side view as in FIG. 1 with a viewing direction parallel to thebending axes of said cores 2, 3 look like said single core 2 shown inFIG. 3. In a view perpendicular to this view and to the longitudinalaxis of said handle section 5, such a mascara brush would preferablyhave the shape of the letter Y with said cores 2, 3 being straight inthis view. In another variant (also not shown) of the mascara brush, thetwo cores are arranged so that they extend at an essentially constantdistance between each other parallel to each other in the view describedimmediately before. In this case, the bristle-free sections of saidcores 2, 3 are also attached to and connected with said handle section 5in parallel.

[0041]FIGS. 5 and 6 show a mascara reservoir 14 to be used with saidmascara brush 1. The scale of FIGS. 5 and 6 differs from that of FIGS. 1to 4. Said mascara reservoir 14 has an elongated, essentiallycylindrical basic shape comprising on its front side a formed threadedsection 15 on to which a closing cap (not shown) may be screwed. Theinner diameter of said threaded section 15 is 2.8 mm. In other variants(not shown) of said mascara reservoir, the diameter of said threadedsection may range between 1.8 and 5 mm. Said threaded section 15receives a wiping sleeve 16 which is connected to said threaded section15 in a known manner. Said wiping sleeve 16 is preferably made of anelastic material or soft plastic such as LDPE. It is tapered towards theinterior of said mascara reservoir 14 up to a circular mascara wipingaperture 17 which is defined by a peripheral wiping edge section 18. Thediameter of the mascara wiping aperture 17 is 2.6 mm. In the othervariants of the mascara reservoir, this diameter may range from 1.8 to5.0 mm.

[0042] In the aforementioned variants of the mascara brush having anon-circular cross-section of the bristle contour, the cross-section ofsaid wiping sleeve 16 and said mascara wiping aperture 17 is adapted tomatch the respective cross-section of the bristle contour.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mascara brush comprising a plurality ofbristles held between two intertwisted wire sections forming a core,with said core comprising a curved core section, wherein at least twocurved cores (2, 3) extending from a common handle section (5) areprovided.
 2. A mascara brush according to claim 1, wherein said cores(2, 3) have essentially the same bending radius.
 3. A mascara brushaccording to claim 1, wherein transition sections (6, 7) of said cores(2, 3) adjacent to said handle section (5) have different transitionangles relative to said handle section (5).
 4. A mascara brush accordingto claim 1, wherein said handle section (5) is formed of bristle-freeintertwisted wire sections being extensions of said cores (2, 3).
 5. Amascara brush according to claim 1, wherein said bristle-free sectionsof said cores (2, 3) in the handle section (5) are positioned inparallel and are connected with each other.
 6. A mascara brush accordingto claim 1, wherein tangents (T₂, T₃) of said cores (2, 3) intersectingin a starting point (E) form an angle β which is larger than 0°.
 7. Amascara brush according to claim 1, wherein a bristle contour (8, 9) ofsaid cores (2, 3) has one of the following shapes: cylindrical,barrel-shaped, shape of truncated cone tapering on one or both sides,shape of truncated cone, centrally waisted centrally waisted with atruncated cone tapering on both sides.
 8. A mascara brush according toclaim 1, wherein a bristle contour (8,9) of said cores (2, 3) has one ofthe following cross-sectional shapes: round, elliptical, triangular,especially with rounded corners, rectangular, especially square-shaped,especially with rounded corners.
 9. A mascara brush according to claim1, wherein said bristles (4) are made of plastic fibres or naturalfibres.
 10. A mascara brush according to claim 1, wherein said handlesection (5) is attached in a stem section centrally or off-centre.
 11. Amascara brush according to claim 1, wherein the stem section has adiameter ranging from 1.8 mm to 5.0 mm.
 12. A mascara brush according toclaim 1, wherein instead of said curved cores (2, 3) at least one ofsaid two cores is formed as a straight core.
 13. A method formanufacturing a mascara brush comprising a plurality of bristles heldbetween two intertwisted wire sections forming a core, with said corecomprising a curved core section, including the steps of: manufacturinga raw brush having at least two straight cores extending from a commonhandle section (5); inserting said cores into a bending tool having aconvex bending plunger (12) and a concave counter-plunger (13) beingessentially complementary thereto; bending said cores, wherein saidbending plunger (12) and said counter-plunger (13) are moved towardseach other and then away from each other; taking said cores (2, 3) outof said bending tool.
 14. The use of a mascara reservoir (14) comprisinga circular mascara wiping aperture (17), through which said mascarabrush (1) is insertable into said mascara reservoir (14), for a mascarabrush (1) according to any of claims 1 through 7.